Neotectónica y Geofísica de la Falla Aguacaliente en los Valles de Coris y de El Guarco, Costa Rica

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2006

Keywords

Morphotectonics, neotectonics, electrical method, magnetic method, hydrogeology, Aguacaliente Fault

Abstract

In the Coris and Guarco valleys, we conducted geomorphic and geophysical studies and compiled geo-logical, hydrogeological and trench information in order to define the traces of the Aguacaliente fault. The principal active trace of this fault trends west-northwest and is located in the southern sector of the Coris and El Guarco valleys. Rivers and creeks bending between 50 and 450 m suggest it is a sinistral fault. The location of the fault trace is well constrained in certain parts of both valleys; elsewhere the fault trace is inferred using geomorphic criteria. The fault trace shows a wide deformation zone that covers between tens of meters to more than hundred meters. The lack of fault prominence and the wide fault zone are explained by the combination of a horizontal displacement fault traversing a topographically flat region with a Quaternary sedimentary fill, poorly consolidated in its upper portion, and erosion and sedimentation rates that are greater than the rate of seismic activity along the fault.

A second west-northwest fault trace is defined along the northern border of the Coris valley on the boundary of the Carpintera hills. To the east, this fault trace appears to end in a series of short northeast-trending faults. Along with geomorphic data and an interpretation of magnetic data, the fault traces suggest a normal component of displacement. These traces could be inactive.

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Citation / Publisher Attribution

Revista Geológica de América Central, v. 34-35, p. 43-58

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